Anti-government protesters at Istanbul’s Taksim Square on June 4, 2013

Turkish protesters have rejected the government’s apology for excessive violence by police and its appeal to end days of unrest.

On Tuesday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told a news conference in Ankara, “The excessive violence that was used in the first instance against those who were behaving with respect for the environment is wrong and unfair. I apologize to those citizens.”

Arinc called for the unrest to end, saying the protests had been taken over by “terrorist elements”.

The demonstrators took to the streets again on Tuesday evening in defiance of their government’s apology and plea to end the protests, which have escalated into deadly unrest in cities across Turkey.